Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Japan's Nuclear Disaster Secrets?

Many Japanese people are suffering greatly -- from the unknown... They've learned from past experience not to trust the authorities. Corner cutting, rubber-stamp inspections, shabby attempts to hide "dirt" & error, Japanese nuclear industry mismanagement stems in part from poor checks & balances.

Some people in Japan look back at the Chisso-Minamata mercury poisoning disaster, when the cause & extent of Chisso's pollution were revealed only after decades of misinformation. "Compensation" for destroyed health & loss of life has been slow.

The British remember similar episodes of broken trust. UK Agriculture Minister John Gummer tried to reassure a public scared by BSE vCJD. He claimed beef was "perfectly safe" and in front of the press tried feeding a beefburger to his four-year old daughter Cordelia (she refused to eat it).

Individuals cannot be well informed in the face of official misinformation. We need more Japanese press adversarialism in this critical area. So certainly people are afraid. They worry about being tricked, and truth coming out too late.